A moving pebble???
Yesterday afternoon, while taking my dog for a walk, I spotted what looked at first glance like a moving pebble. A moving pebble???? I decided to take a closer look at it. The pebble turned out to be a tiny painted turtle. Just how tiny? I opted to interrupt his journey for a minute and take a couple of pictures of it on my hand to demonstrate the scale.
After that I put him back down where I found him. I hope he will have a long life ahead of him!
Spring has arrived
Spring has been rather late in New England this year, but it seems that it finally has arrived. The proof – the daffodils are in bloom! I had heard about this field of daffodils in a forest and was eager to visit it this year in time for the bloom. But the weather just did not want to cooperate lately. It either rained or there was a strong wind or a combination of the two. Easter morning I woke up to nice conditions. It was calm with a light cloud cover. I headed out in search for the daffodils. After a 10 minute walk down the trail I arrived at what must be the largest concentration of daffodils I have ever seen.
And a lot of them are still not in bloom. It is quite the sight!
I had about 20 minutes of photographing them before a breeze picked up. I am hoping to return in a few days when all of them are in full bloom.
Easter greetings
Wishing everyone happy Easter!
Photograph what you love
Recently I was discussing my Kenya gallery exhibit with a friend of mine, more specifically which pictures she liked the most. During the conversation she mentioned that this exhibit should have given me a pretty good idea about which kind of images people prefer (I had divided my exhibit into four sections – wildlife, landscapes, people and monochrome images – in order to provide an overall view). But here is the thing – during the opening I talked to the guests to get their impressions and everyone had a different favorite! So what can I conclude from this? People have different tastes and it will be impossible to please everyone. So photograph what you love. There is a little bit of you in all of your photographs and your passion for your subject will show in your images, no matter what this subject might be. Go out and have fun!
I just had to share this. If you are interested in photographing the Canadian Rockies, these e-books are a must have! I own the original book and I consider it the best photography guide book to the Canadian Rockies. These e-books contain a lot of updates. Just seeing Darwin’s gorgeous images are worth the money!
via Darwin Wiggett
Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 – Selective color
Yesterday I downloaded the new Nik Silver Efex Pro 2. I have been using the original version for a while and was eager to try out the new features Pro 2 is offering. One of them is selective color. It offers you the possibility to bring back the original color to part of your image. After converting your picture to black and white, all you need to do is to place a control point in the appropriate location and then use the slider to decide just how much color you would like. It can create some nice effects.
By the way – Nik Software is offering great FREE webinars on their website. You can check them out here.
Valentine’s Day
Happy Valentine’s day to everyone!
Marymere Falls in Black and White
Since I purchased the Nik Silver Efex software a couple of months ago I have gotten quite hooked on black and white conversion. I have been digging through my files, looking for possibilities. The other day I stumbled across an image from Marymere Falls. When I photographed it I wanted to avoid the usual shot and instead do some close-ups. Looking at the image again, I thought it might work well in black and white. I purposely went for this high contrast look to emphasize the water. Since I am still experimenting with my monochrome work, I would value your opinion. Let me know if you like it.
And upon request the original color image. It conveys quite a different feeling than the black and white.
Groundhog Day
Today is Groundhog Day and with the winter we have been having, I am very much hoping that the little guy won’t see his shadow today!
Update: Phil did not see a shadow and is predicting an early spring!
Winter photography – a minimalistic approach
Winter really is a great season for a minimalistic approach to photography. The snow can provide a nice even backdrop for simple scenes like this. What enhances this image even more was the beautiful early morning light which turned the snow into this lovely color.
Beate Dalbec's Blog 